Johnny Depp has pirate in his blood

Johnny Depp doesn't want to stop making 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies.

The actor - who plays Captain Jack Sparrow in the Disney films - is amazed he is able to work on something he loves so much and would be happy to reprise the role forever.

He said: "I can't waitto get back in costume. Some people will say, 'Aha, Depp sold out by doing the sequels.' But it was never an issue for me. I love Captain Jack so much I'd do 'Pirates 7' if they asked me."

The 46-year-old star - who is apparently earning £21 million to appear in the fourth instalment of the franchise, 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' - realised he was obsessed with the character while he was shooting the first movie.

Depp - who raises two children, Lily-Rose, 10, and seven-year-old Jack, with his partner Vanessa Paradis - told Parade.com: "Sometimes you fall in love with who you're playing. As filming winds down, you hear the clock ticking because you know you're going to leave your character behind and a kind of odd separation anxiety kicks in. You get irritable and just sort of melancholy.

"That's what happened to me when we wrapped the first 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. I realised I was going to miss Captain Jack. I had felt so comfortable being him and being in that skin. Suddenly you go, 'Am I ever going to see him again?' "

Although Depp is returning to the Disney franchise his co-stars from the first three films Keira Knightley, 24, and Orlando Bloom, 33, are not coming back for the sequel.